Xenoblade Chronicles X: Short Tales
by M1nceM3re84
Summary: A series of tales focusing on the daily lives and activities of Cross, Team Elma, and a whole bunch of others! (Chapters not necessarily in any chronological order)
1. Chapter 1: Commercial District Ruckus!

Notice: I do not own Xenoblade Chronicles X or it's properties, except for my interpretation on Cross. All rights are reserved to Monolith Soft.

* * *

Chapter 1: Commercial District Ruckus!

The city of New L.A. was brimming with activity. Ranging from simple tennis in the Residential District to the happy hour shopping of the Commercial and Administrative Districts. The search for the Lifehold core was still on, yet some BLADEs and citizens still found time to do leisurely activities as they please.

Meanwhile a young man was wandering around the Commercial District, looking around the marketplace when,

"Yo, Cross!"

A voice calls out to the young man, where he turns and sees another man in BLADE armor calling out to him.

"Hey Doug!" the young man responded back

Yes, this young man was known as Cross. A unique mimeosome who was found within his stasis pod a month after New LA. was established and when everyone else had already awoken. Being discovered to be quite talented in combat and proficient in numerous weapons, he was placed into Elma's team and worked from there. As time went on, Cross has not only been proven to be a vital asset to the team, but as an avid helper to the citizens and other BLADEs of New L.A. as well. Often he'd take time out of his schedule to help the numerous residents of the city with their problems. Whether it be finding a lost pet, escorting someone to a faraway region, to even helping his fellow BLADE soldiers with their own personal problems. Overtime, it has garnered him a popular reputation amongst the city, befriending humans (or mimeosomes) and aliens alike. Admired by residents and respected by BLADE soldiers and elite alike.

"What are ya doing?" asked Doug, a Harrier and one of the many BLADE soldiers Cross and Team Elma have helped, as he approached the rookie

"Ah, I'm just buying some groceries. Lin was running low on ingredients and I figured I'd go and get them for her, seeing as how I didn't have much going on at the moment" said Cross "What about you?"

"Me? I'm just here to catch a bite at the Barista Court. Wanna join me?"

"Wish I could. Unfortunately, I'm a bit tight for credits right now. Murderess 'borrowed' some of my funds….again."

"Oh, well in that case I'll pay for you."

"You sure? I don't want to be a bother."

"C'mon, it's my treat. Besides, you and your team helped me out a ton when I needed it most. Whether it be my own missions or even some of my own personal issues. It's the least I could do."

Cross, shrugging and smirking, "Well, whatever floats your boat."

"Just don't get anything _too_ expensive, alright?"

"Aw, really? I was _hoping_ to get a couple hundred Forfex burgers along with a few thousand Dougill shakes."

Doug laughs "Heheh, always the jokester. Don't push luck now, ya hear?"

Suddenly, a loud crash is heard not far from them within Barista Court. They look to see a large number of people circling around something. The two rush over to check it out and move their way through the group of people to see what was happening.

There was a turned over table and some spilled food. Next to the mess was a female alien warrior all too familiar to Cross.

"How dare you mock my fighting skills! I have trained for countless moons compared to your short existence!" exclaimed the purple alien warrior as she pointed to the man across from her

Across from here was a BLADE soldier with a tattoo on his face with an aggressive, drunken pose. Another person all too familiar to Cross.

"Oh please! I've seen babies have more fight in them than you!"

"You insolent human! Let us duel right here, right now to decide who will walk away today with fewer bones. Let us give these people a spectacle to behold." As the alien warrior gestured to the crowd.

She turns her head towards the mass of people during her mini-speech and spot Cross. Her eyes widen as she starts walking towards him.

"Ah! If it isn't the great warrior Cross! I do not know anyone more capable in fighting prowess than yourself! Come! Explain to this wretched scum the great strength of the mighty Slovity Pagus!"

The man across from the Cavern Clan Prone ,now known as Slovity, also takes notice of Cross.

"Is that you Pard'? It's me, Yelv! Oh man, it's been a while! Listen, why don't you tell this Slobby girl that's she's just full of herself and that she talks too big for her own good?"

"My name is Slovity, you worm! And as if Cross would ever side with you!"

"Oh please, this guy's my Pard'! We go on missions all the time and hang out a bunch. We're closer than two peas in a pod. Whatdaya say, dude?"

Cross, now in the middle of the scene and in shocked, starts stammering.

"Uh- Wait- I- uh- huh"

Seeing this, Slovity aggressively turns back towards Yelv.

"As you can see, your incoherent slurring is causing discomfort and confusion to this young warrior!"

"Oh please, if anyone's playing any sort of mind games it'll be you Missy."

Cross, now fully realizing the situation, sighs and takes a deep breath.

"Alright. First off, what happened? How did this all start?"

Slovity, looks back to Cross and eagerly explains.

"Well, back when I assisted you and your squad in defending the East Gate, me and this man sparked up a bond and he invited me to eat with him on this day. We ate here and talked for a bit…."

She then turns back to Yelv with an angry expression.

"However after he consumed a few bottles of what you call 'be-ar', he started rambling on about a whole bunch of nonsense and challenged me to a game of 'arm-wrestling', to which I won. He then had the nerve of calling me a cheater and started mocking me of my fighting prowess! I will not stand for such injustice! I demand a duel right this instance!"

 _Okay, so Yelv's drunk_ thought Cross _Wouldn't be the first time this big mouth landed him in trouble…._

Before he knew it, Slovity started beating down on the drunken Yelv by surprise, forcing him into a fetal position and attracting more attention

Attempting to calm the situation down, Cross jumped in and started pulling Slovity away from the vulnerable Yelv.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed the now restrained Slovity "I am not finished with this worm yet!"

"Slovity! Calm down! Yelv is …. not right in the head right now and needs a bit of time to clear his mind. I'm going to have to take him away for a bit."

"But my duel!-"

"We can talk about it tomorrow. Wait a bit and I'll….get you a weapon."

Hearing this, Slovity calmed down a bit.

"Ah, a new weapon to use to clobber this fool. In that case, I will hold off until tomorrow. Until then…"

Solvity then walked off. Meanwhile, Yelv was knocked out as a result of Slovity's mini rampage..

"Well, looks like I gotta get you back to the Barracks." As Cross stated before trying to carry Yelv out of the Court through the crows.

Before Cross could escort Yelv out, however, another voice calls out to him.

"Hey you!"

Cross turns around to see a middle aged man standing next to the turned over table and spilled food that he identified as the owner of the restaurant Slovity and Yelv were eating at due to his work clothes

"You seem to know those two" said the owner "You're the one that's gonna pay for all this?"

"Ah...well…" said Cross before turning over to Doug and giving him a 'please help me' expression.

Doug, catching on, sighed and begrudgingly nodded.

"I got it" said Doug, as he was pulling out his digital wallet

"Thanks Doug! I owe you!" exclaimed Cross as he began dragging Yelv back to the BLADE Barracks

 _More like Yelv owes me_ thought Doug before turning his attention to the owner

"How much for the damages?" questioned Doug

"20,000 credits"

…. _Oh yeah I'm definitely getting my money back from Yelv after this_ …...

...

After much carrying around, Cross finally reached the floor of the Reclaimers' living quarters in the BLADE Barracks. He then dropped the unconscious Yelv at the front of his dorm, much to the bewilderment of the other Reclaimers.

 _Yeesh. And I thought a drunk Fry was heavy..._ thought Cross, recalling an early memory of his as the young rookie walked his way back to the elevator to get back to Team Elma's own living quarters in the Barracks.

When the elevator door opened, however, he saw Lin and Tatsu already in the small lift.

"Oh hey Cross!"

"Hey Lin. I thought you were staying at our quarters" said Cross as he entered the elevator

"What were you and Tatsu up to?"

Lin, crossing her arms, said "Well since I was waiting around for you to get back, I figured I would take Tatsu out to look around the Ma-non ship since he wouldn't stop talking about wanting to go see it."

Tatsu, jumping up and down, stated "Tatsu told space creatures great tales of the Mighty Tatsu and fellow sidekicks, where Mighty Tatsu kicked many bad guy butts while sidekicks supported Mighty Tatsu."

Lin, rolling her eyes, explained "They just laughed at him."

Lin and Cross shared a laugh while Tatsu jumped up and down furiously

"Meh-meh! Space creatures did not laugh at Tatsu! They laughed WITH Tatsu as Tatsu talked Tatsu's own victories!"

"Heh, yeah sure" said Lin as she began picking up Tatsu "By the way Cross, did you get the groceries?'

"...groceries?" asked Cross, before realizing that he had completely forgotten to buy what Lin had asked for. He didn't even get a chance to get any of the ingredients because of the incident between Slovity and Yelv earlier.

"Don't tell me you forgot..." said Lin with a disappointed expression

"Sorry. Some stuff went down a bit earlier and I got pulled into it. My attention was mostly diverted to what was going on at that moment" explained Cross

"Oh!" exclaimed Lin "You mean the incident at Barista Court?"

Cross nodded.

"Ah, so you were the one stepped in and stopped it! Geez, how typical of you! Makes me wonder why you're an Interceptor and not a Mediator, Mr. 'Solves-Everyone's-Problems-For-Them'."

Cross rolled his eyes at the comment before saying "Hey, I gotta use my combat skills somehow, someway"

Lin chuckled.

"Well if you forgot to buy the groceries because of that, then I guess it's not a big deal. Hey, Elma's out on a mission right now helping with another team. Maybe I can ask her if she can bring back something for me to cook" said Lin as she bought out her communication device and started calling Elma

...

Sometime later in Team Elma's living quarters, the silver-haired leader placed a big, yet rancid bag onto the kitchen counter. Lin, Cross, and Tatsu recoil to the appearance and stench of it.

"Suid meat" exclaimed an unfazed Elma as she started walking away "I'm gonna go take shower"

The other three continue to look at the bag in disgust for some time.

"Guess this is better than no food" Cross sighed as he went and sat on the couch in exhaustion

"Ughhh" said Lin

"...this food still edible?" asked a confused Tatsu

"...I guess we'll have to make Tatsu soup now!" exclaimed Lin as she turned towards the Nopon

"Meh-meh?!"

...

Light shined in Yelv's eyes as he slowly awoke. A bit groggy, he looked around to take in his environment when he realized that he was sitting in front of his own dormitory.

"Ugh man, what happened?" asked the aggressive Reclaimer to himself, when he notices a small note next to him and read it as he picked it up

"Yo. You pissed off a Cavern Clan Prone and you're getting your ass handed to you for it today. Also I got back the credits that I had to use to pay for your little mess yesterday from your account. - Doug"

Yelv read the note slowly and tried to process what was happening before going into his digital wallet to see how much was missing,

"20,000 credits?! What?!" yelled Yelv "... also wait what was that about me fighting a Prone?"

 _Fin_


	2. Chapter 2: A Hopeful Encounter

Notice: I do not own Xenoblade Chronicles X or it's properties, except for my interpretation on Cross. All rights are reserved to Monolith Soft.

* * *

Chapter 2: A Hopeful Encounter

It was a rough day for Cross. Earlier, he and his team had to deal with another large Ganglion threat. Once thought to be a simple probe repair mission deep within Sylvalum, they soon encountered a gigantic Ganglion mech known as Zu Pharg, piloted by the subordinates Ryyz and Dagahn, who the team had fought previously when the Ganglion invaded New L.A.. After much fighting, close calls, and near death experiences, the team defeated the Zu Pharg.

Unfortunately, the team's Skells were totalled during the fight. After reporting back to Commander Vandham and Director General Maurice of the incident, Cross took a leisurely walk around the Residential District (after calling in for the insurance of his Skell) to clear his stressed mind before settling down on a bench in exhaustion.

It was already near evening at that time and so the sky was darkening and the streets were bare. No sort of major activities or loud conversations happening at that time compared to the busy day. Everything was near quiet. Cross enjoyed this lack of noise and, before he knew it, began drifting off.

"Cross?"

However, a nearby voiced called his name. He opened his eyes and saw who it was.

"Hope?"

The person who called out to him was none other than Hope Alanzi, a BLADE Mediator. Many of New L.A.'s citizens come to her in their time of need or whenever they have a problem and talk to her about it, to which Hope complies by offering them advice on what to do with their struggles. Cross once came to her in need of assistance with a mission he took up regarding a person requesting several pearls to propose with. Hope responded by giving him her foster father's pearl necklace for the mission. As a means to repaying her for the wise woman's generous donation, Cross assisted Hope in a mission she was assigned to take care of in Cauldros. Ever since then, they have developed a friendship with each other and would often talk or hang out outside of Hope's listening sessions, to the point where many of New L.A.'s residents began noticing how close they were becoming.

"What are you doing here?" asked Cross, now somewhat awake

"I was on my way back to my home. What about you?"

"I was just resting here. A bit exhausted."

"Oh that's right. Your team was the one who took down that large Ganglion mech earlier, correct?"

Cross nodded, as he began putting his hands on the back of his head "Yup. Now it's just me and my own thoughts."

"Anything you want to talk about? I'd be more than happy to listen to your troubles" said Hope, noticing that Cross was a bit stressed out as she began taking the unoccupied space next to Cross on the bench

"Nah, you don't have to do that." said Cross

"Please, if anything is bothering you just tell me. I'm willing to listen. Plus, I would love to hear your story about you and your team's battle." reassured Hope with a smile

"Heh, well alright." Cross began "So the mission me, Elma, and Lin were originally assigned to was just to fix a damaged data probe all the way in Sylvalum."

Hope nodded

"Then," Cross added "Almost out of nowhere we see this gigantic war machine right in the middle of the Sylvalum Sandsea. It was piloted by Ryyz and Daghan, the two Ganglions who led the invasion on New L.A. and were defeated by Elma, Lin, and I. Ryyz seemed hellbent on trying to get back to New L.A. and destroy it to redeem herself for their defeat. So the three of us hopped into our Skells to stop that thing."

Cross clasped his hands together as he recalled the event.

"It was a long, tedious battle. That thing was tough enough to survive the onslaught of three of our high class Skells. We toughed it out though, even when that thing destroyed our mechs and we were forced to fight on foot to the very end. Eventually we downed the thing, but Ryyz and Dagahn were still stuck in the cockpit. Elma tried to find a way to save them, but it was too late since that mech was already blowing up and ablaze, which proved too dangerous for her."

Cross slumped back.

"We had to call in a chopper to come pick us up and then reported the incident to the higher ups. There was also the fact that I had to call insurance in for my totaled Skell. So, yeah, today was exhausting."

Hope nodded once more.

"I see. You and your team went through so much to try and stop that thing from reaching New L.A. and launching a second attack" stated Hope

"Yup" confirmed Cross as he closed his eyes

Hope smiled "Well, you three made quite a noble accomplishment then. Your exhaustion only proves how much hard work you put into stopping that machine. And seeing as how three stopped that thing, it looks like all your hard work paid off."

Cross opened his eyes "Huh, never thought of it like that."

Cross turned his head towards Hope.

"I feel kinda bad for making you sit through all of that. Since you're always listening to my issues and stories, you wanna talk about anything bothering you?"

"Huh?" asked Hope, puzzled

"Like,anything you, yourself, want to talk or vent about?"

"Oh Cross, it's okay. I don't want to bother you or waste any more of your time for me."

Cross shook his head "Nonsense. There has to be a few things you want to get off your chest. You're always listening to someone else vent, why not have it the other way around for a bit? I'm all ears."

Hearing this, Hope looked around silently for a bit, before nodding and taking Cross up on his offer

"Okay" said Hope

Cross positioned himself more in front of Hope on the bench to better listen

"...admittedly, I'm still a bit hung up about the whole Ornella incident".

"Oh..." said Cross a bit mournfully "Yeah….that whole thing….."

Recently there was an incident regarding someone impersonating Hope and the people meeting with this impersonator going missing. With some help from Cross and Ada, one of the people who Hope helped before, the Mediator was able to find the culprit: a Definian, an alien shapeshifter who worked for the Ganglion. Not only that, but it turns out Ornella, Hope's advisor, was also involved in the disappearances and aligned herself with the Ganglion out of anger for Hope's selflessness of money and rewards After a confrontation with Ornella's pack of Definians, Hope tried reasoning with Ornella. Realizing what she had just done, Ornella instead ended her life right before Hope's very eyes by shooting herself in the head, leaving the young woman emotionally broken up for quite a while. It wasn't until days later when Hope came back to helping people, though acting as if nothing had ever happened. Cross wanted to question Hope about this sudden change, but decided not to out of respect.

"It's just…" started Hope "I've known Ornella for so long….I trusted her. Sure, she was always annoyed with my refusal of money beyond my monthly payments or rewards, but she never forcefully tried to change my view on them. The fact that she bottled up her animosity towards me for so long and was secretly plotly against me is just…."

Hope started to chock up

"I wish she would've told me." said Hope as she began tearing up "N-no, I wish I would have noticed. Maybe then I could've helped her. Maybe then I would've prevented all of this h-horrible mess from h-happening. M-maybe…"

Before Cross knew it, Hope began sobbing into the silent evening. Cross, taken back a bit by this, didn't know what to do. He thought about putting his arm around her, but decided against it as he didn't want Hope to think he was taking advantage of her like this. Though, thinking of no other ways to help console her, he relented and put his right arm around her.

Surprisingly, Hope moved closer towards Cross after this action. Though still sobbing into her hands, her head seemed to lean closer into Cross' chest. Cross patted her back and allowed for her to continue crying.

"It's alright." said Cross softly "You can let it all out."

After more time passed, Hope ceased her crying and looked at Cross.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm a just a burden to people." said Hope through her tears "Am I doing something wrong in trying to help other people? Is everyone going to hate me eventually for doing one wrong thing after another? …..all these people in New L.A. come to me for advice all the time. All I just want to do is help them. But there may be a time where I end up doing something such as giving the wrong advice to someone and it'll lead everyone hating me and thinking I'm a liar…"

"Nonsense." started Cross "Hope, you're an amazing person. You shouldn't feel bad over doing what you feel is the right thing, even when other people, …..such as Ornella….., may think otherwise. People in New L.A. still look up to you. You're one of the most caring and insightful people I've ever met, I'm sure not everyone would hate you for just making a couple of mistakes here and there. Besides, you shouldn't be expected to solve everyone's issues. They can't just rely on you to solve their problems all the time. They need to think for themselves too."

Cross held Hope by the shoulders and looked at the Mediator directly in the eye.

"You're a wonderful person, Hope. Not only that, but you're strong too. I'm sure you'll be able to pull through whatever you're feeling overtime. You just gotta have more faith in yourself. Everyone else already does." reassured Cross with a smile

Hope, stunned by Cross' words, looks away at the young man for a bit before looking back at him again with a smile.

"Yeah." said Hope "You might be right."

Before Cross knew it, Hope closed the distance between her and the young Interceptor with a warm hug.

"Thank you." said Hope

Cross, hugging back, "No problem. Anytime."

The two kept the embrace up for a couple more seconds before departing.

"Y'know" said Hope "You're really good at helping other people. Wanna trade places for a day?"

"Me? Nah. I think I'd go crazy after a couple of minutes." joked Cross "Besides, that'd mean you'd have to deal with running back and forth all across Mira every second, exploring hostile places, climbing cliffs, dealing with sometimes uncooperative teammates, fighting 50 foot indigens every minute….Need I say more?"

"Hmmmm" said Hope "I'll take it."

Both share a laugh at this mini scenario.

Before they knew it, nighttime was already upon them.

"Whoops, I lost track of time." said Hope as she began standing up "Well, I have to get back home now. Thank you so much for taking your time to listen to my problems, Cross. I really appreciate it."

Cross scratched the back of head in embarrassment "Hey, it's alright. If you got any future issues, I'm willing to listen in on them."

"I'll keep that in mind." said Hope, waving "Bye."

"Later"

Hope went in the direction of her home while Cross headed the other way towards the Barracks. The young Mediator admittedly felt better after talking about her own personal problems and getting them off her chest while the young Interceptor felt good about being able to help out.

...

When Cross got back to the Barracks, Lin sitting on the couch reading a fashion magazine.

"Oh, Cross" said Lin as he walked into their living quarters "A worker from the garage came in today regarding your Skell."

"Hmm? What of it?" asked Cross

"...they said that you've already used up all of the insurance on it and charged a fee to your account…." Lin said with a bit of reluctance

"...well ain't that just great" as Cross said before simply heading off to the bathroom to prepare for bed "I'll deal with it in the morning…. _yawn_."

Fin


	3. Chapter 3: The Cake is a Pry (Part 1)

Notice: I do not own Xenoblade Chronicles X or it's properties, except for my interpretation on Cross. All rights are reserved to Monolith Soft.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Cake is a Pry (Part 1)

It was evening by the time Cross got back to the Barracks. He had spent most of the day scouting a team in surveying more of Mira's unknown land in the upper northwest area of Noctilum. He was tasked with protecting the team from any hostile indigens that dared approached them. As such, he had to fend many of those creatures off as the team conducted their work.

Needless to say, he was quite exhausted.

Cross had reached the living quarters and was planning on collapsing straight onto the couch. To his surprise, however, he had unexpectedly found another individual on it.

"Secretary Nagi!" exclaimed Cross

There sat Kentaro Nagi, the Secretary of Defense of New L.A.'s government who had become acquainted with Elma and her team overtime. Apparently he had let himself into their living quarters using his all access pass.

"Ah, Cross. Hello there." greeted Nagi

"What are you doing here, Sir?" asked Cross, w now walking towards the kitchen area

Hearing the formalities, Nagi shook his head while waving his hand in disapproval, "Cross, how many times do I have to tell you? Outside of BLADE work, just call me Nagi! I don't need a constant reminder of my governmental works 24/7 with the formalities."

"Oh, alright….Nagi" awkwardly said Cross, as he was getting a couple glasses of water

Nagi looked around the Team's personal barracks, "So, where are Elma and Lin? I was hoping to stop by for a few minutes to eat with you all."

"'Think this morning they said they were gonna go shopping for some clothes around the Commercial District, with Irena." answered the young warrior as he rummaged through the fridge for more of its contents "Don't think they'll be back until much later today."

"Ah, quite a shame. I haven't had the pleasure of dining in on one of Lin's meals in a long while."

Cross chuckled, "Yeah, she's a pretty good cook."

 _Though I still can't help but feel that it's a bit weird how he can access our living quarters any time he wants._ Thought Cross _Oh well, he is the Secretary of Defense after all._

Some silence passes as Nagi was still looking around the place whilst Cross was still looking through the fridge.

"Well, since I'm here, perhaps a small conversation would sate my hunger." said Nagi "Any mission stories you want to tell me Cross?"

"Think I might have a few-"

Cross stopped mid sentence as he opened the freezer, where he saw an item he had forgotten about for quite some time.

An ice cream cake.

It had been in the fridge for a while, it looks like, though it appears that someone had taken a few pieces from it already during that passing time.

Cross could only stare at it in silence. Nagi took notice of this and approached the young man from where he was standing.

"...Is something the matter?" inquired the Secretary

Cross, finally snapping back into reality, realized what he had done, "O-oh no, it's nothing. It's just….."

Nagi looked at what Cross was staring at seconds ago, with Cross taking the sugary treat out of the freezer.

"I forgot I still had this. This thing brings back some…..memories." said Cross with a hint of sorrow in his voice

"Oh?" asked an interested Nagi "Could you care to explain the background behind this cake?"

Cross closed the freezer, "Depends if you have the time or not."

"I have plenty of time." reassured Nagi as he took a seat on the countertop in the kitchen, with Cross following suit

"Well…..alright then." said a still solemn Cross "It started out as this….."

...

The land of Sylvalum was quite one to behold. Though it looked like a barren sandsea at first, it didn't take long to realize the stone structures around the sea, making look all the more mysterious. The place looked as if an enormous ocean had been drained and the contents of the sea bed had been revealed.

Deep within the region, Cross was with the Christoph Brothers, Frye and Phog, and Mia, an up-and-coming BLADE who affectionately called Cross her "chief".

They were currently on a mission regarding a mysterious gas that the brothers were assigned to investigate, with Cross and Mia accompanying them. Cross was there for protection from Miran predators while Mia came in hopes of finding any of her lost Skell gear along the way.

"Geez, Phog." said Frye, the older of the two and also the most outspoken "Leave it to you to do the unthinkable."

"Well, all I did was shoot at the gas." said Phog, the youngest one who was very 'spacey' "It seemed like the most appropriate way in obtaining the Phognium."

"You're still calling it that…." Frye shook his head "Well, at least after this is all over we could go get a couple of drinks at the diner. Man, just thinking about it is getting me pumped!"

Cross smiled, "I'm glad you to were able to make up."

Frye turned his attention to Cross, smiling as well, "Yeah, thanks to you! I don't think me n Phog would still be seeing eye to eye right now if it wasn't for you help."

Phog nodded in agreement, though his eyes still focused on the material he called 'Phognium'

"Man, Chief, I guess the rumors were true," interjected a somewhat bored Mia "Looks like you really are Mr. Helping-People-With-Their-Problems-All-The-Time after all. I can't tell you how many times I've heard your name dropped in the passing conversations I'm hearing."

Cross rolled his eyes, "Please don't tell me that name's going to be a thing."

"Oh yeah, why are you here Mia?" asked Frye "You were practically begging this guy to bring you along."

"I was hoping to find any of my leftover Skell parts in the area." answered Mia "It was back when I crashed here in Sylvalum a couple of times. The multiple areas of where the gas was popping up at seemed to be close to the crash sites where I got shot down from."

"...you got shot down more than once?" asked Phog

Mia stomped her foot, "That's not the point! Look, I decided to help out cause I needed to find some stuff of mine."

"But you didn't really help" continued a deadpanned Phog "All you did was walk around with us and talk."

"Uh, excuse me, I DID help! For your information! I navigated you guys to each location where the gas popped up."

"Yeah, in the most sloppy way possible." interjected Frye "Most of the time you didn't even lead us to the correct places and ended up getting sidetracked a bunch. You even led us straight into a hidden Aeviter! You have any idea how tough those things are to fight?"

"Oh hush up!" pouted Mia

Cross rolled his eyes in amusement to the scene, before taking a look around their surroundings. He sighted a small BLADE base camp not far from them.

"Hey, a BC. Let's stop there and rest up for a bit." Cross said as he gestured to the pit stop

"Sounds good to me." Frye responded. Phog nodded his head in agreement as well.

"Thank God. My feet have been killing me!" exclaimed Mia as she quickly began power walking to the resting area, earning her a couple of sighs and headshakes from the other three as they soon followed suit.

As they got to the rest area, they found another BLADE team already there, presumably the same one that set up the camp.

Only to find said team to be in an argument. A female BLADE was yelling at an older male BLADE. Next to them were two other BLADEs, another male and another female, who looked to be younger than the two, as they simply just stared at the argument in silence.

"For the last time, Grette," the older BLADE male started "I told you I can't just go back into town and get you a new ice cream cake right at this instance."

The female BLADE stomped her foot in response, "Well then go get it back from oc-servs then! I had one small luxury to enjoy here in this hellish wasteland and those Ganglion machines come in and ruin it for me!"

Adelbert shook his head and sighed in frustration, before turning his attention to the approaching oncomers.

"Ah, other BLADEs," said the man "Nice to know we're not the only ones out here."

"Hey there," Cross held his hand out, "Nice to meet you."

The man took the hand and shook it briefly, "Nice to meet you as well. 'Name's Adelbert. I'm the leader of this here group of Harriers."

The man, now known as Adelbert, gestured to the standby pair.

"Over there are Phina and Dirk." said Adelbert as the pair waved to them. "Say, you're Cross, aren't you? The newest rookie to Elma's team? Let me tell ya, I've been hearin' a lot of stories about ya-"

The leader was cut short as the female BLADE who had been previously yelling at him cleared her throat to get his attention.

"And over here we have Little Ms. Princess here, Grette." said Adelbert with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Grette, rolling her eyes, still kept her attention full at her leader, "Yeah, whatever. This still doesn't help with getting my ice cream cake back. I've worked long and hard to get those materials from those-"

Adelbert merely groaned in frustration as Grette was going in on one of her rants again.

"Grette that's enough!"

Grette stopped her tirade short at Adelbert raising his voice at her. Adelbert then turned to Cross.

"Hey listen, we're in kind of a rut here. Little miss princess here is having a fit about those Ganglion oc-servs coming in and stealing her ice cream cake. And once she's set on something she wants, there ain't no way of convincing her otherwise." Adelbert explained "Another problem is that we still need to go out and find some noble silk for our assigned mission." Adelbert thought to himself for a bit before turning back to the Interceptor "Here's an idea. Since my team and I already have the full details over where and how to obtain the silk, could I ask you and your team to go and retrieve that ice cream cake from those oc-servs? I promise to pay you guys back for it."

Hearing this, Cross turned his head to his comrades, "What do you guys think?"

"Uh, sure I guess." responded Frye, who was admittedly none too pleased with carrying out a task for someone as whiny as Grette

"I'm game." chirped Mia "Besides, I could use the combat experience."

"Hm, cake huh?" said Phog as he began thinking to himself in his own, 'spacy' manner "Sounds tasty."

Grette, hearing this, stomped her way in Phog's direction

"If you even THINK about eating any of that cake for yourself, I will have your head on a silver platter!"

Frye, in turn, angrily started pushing Grette away from Phog

"Hey, back of my brother you whiny bitch!" yelled Frye

Before the princess could retort, Phina put her hand over Grette's mouth and pulled her away from the brothers.

"We'll be going to get that silk now," said Phina, as she along with her other teammates were attempting to restrain Grette "You guys just hurry and get that cake from those oc-servs. They're by Badr Basin."

Cross nodded and started gesturing his team in the direction of the area, with Frye still steaming.

"Freakin', whiny ass princess…. We better get a good reward for this…"

…

The task to retrieve the item was fairly simply. The four had found a group of oc-servs in a small circle, surrounding something in the middle of them and occasionally picking it apart. The group simply took the oc-servs from behind by surprise in order to figure out what they were so fixated over.

Sure enough, the item was the cake they were looking for. They soon made their way back to the camp in a moment's time.

When they got back to the camp, however, the place was utterly ravaged. Chairs and tables were flipped and destroyed all over the place, food was spilled all over the ground, the small sleeping areas were call cut up.

"What the…" Cross muttered softly, still trying to take in the situation as the other three took this time to look around the destroyed base

As Cross began looking around himself, he noticed some kind of movement coming from the tent. He approached it carefully with his assault rifle in tow, only for the source of the movement to stand up and show themselves.

That source was Dirk, who was holding his right arm in pain with his armor all scratched up and visibly shaken.

"Dirk?" said Cross

"O-oh thank God," said the rookie "It's you guys…"

"What happened?" asked Cross as he began tending to the surviving BLADE's wounds whilst the other three continued examining the ravaged base.

"Oh God, I- it just- they came outta nowhere!" exclaimed Dirk

"Who did?" asked Frye, approaching the pair

"The Prone! The Prone came from outta nowhere and….and…. Oh my God….." Dirk held his head while shaking, still visibly disturbed

"Easy," Cross said reassuringly "Just calm down and explain to us what happened."

Dirk was silent for a bit before responding

"Okay," nodded Dirk, now somewhat calm "W-we completed our mission and got the silk while you guys were still away. So when we got back to base, we decided to make dinner." the young rookie gripped himself harder "Then, out of nowhere we were ambushed by a group of Prone and they…." Dirk was on the verge of tears "t-they…."

"Out with it!" exclaimed an impatient Frye "What did they d-"

"They killed him!" yelled Dirk "They killed Adelbert! He was trying to shield Grette. He fought them off the best he could, but they shot him in the head and killed out leader like it was nothing!" the young recruit was now teary eyed "I tried to help fend off against them, but apparently it was worth jack shit! They stuffed Grette and Phina in sacks and went off northwest of here! I was too injured to do anything about it. I yelled for those monsters to take me as well, but they just laughed and left me here to die." Dirk was now crying "I-I couldn't do anything to save them…"

"Relax," consoled Cross, as Phog and Mia made their way towards them

"We checked out everything," said Phog "It didn't seem like they were looking for anything specific in the camp to raid for. They just came in and destroyed stuff for the fun of it…"

"This is all so terrible…" muttered Mia, getting a glimpse of the reality of humanity's fight for survival with the other alien races and what comes from it

Dirk started moving, "I need to go save them…"

Frye shook his head, "Not in your condition. If you go in like that, you're gonna get yourself killed too."

Dirk angrily turned to Frye, "Oh yeah? Then what?! Do I just lay here and do nothing while I let the Prone kill my other teammates?!" his voice spat with venom

"Easy, Dirk," said Cross "What Frye's trying to say is that you shouldn't go charging in blindly and potentially get yourself killed recklessly. Meanwhile, we're still somewhat capable in getting them back. So leave it to us."

Dirk stayed silent for a few seconds, before turning back to Cross and nodding in agreement, "You're right. Please, you have to save them."

"That's what we intend to do." responded Cross "Now you said they went northwest from here?"

Dirk nodded and pointed in the direction, "Yeah. I think they headed for the cave, not far from here."

"Alright," Cross turned to his teammates "Looks like we have another mission on our hands. You guys still up for it?" Cross half expected his teammates to bail in possibly viewing that this kind of situation no longer pertained to them. To his delight, the three remained unmoving and nodded. "Good. First off, though, we need to call in some help for Dirk here."

"What and leave him here by himself? What if more of them come back?" said Mia

"O-oh no, it's okay," said Dirk "I know a hiding spot somewhere near here. I can take shelter in there and wait until help arrives."

"Alright then." said Cross as he began calling from his communication device

After briefly requesting for help, Cross and his team headed for the cave while Dirk moved to find his hiding place.

…

After much trekking, the team finally arrived at the cave they were told about. Once they reached the entrance, however, they were taken abit back by the boiling temperature of the place…..and the smell of it.

"Ugh man, it reeks!" exclaimed Mia, pinching her nose in disgust

Their thoughts were cut short, however, by a series of screams coming from inside.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"

"HEEEEELLPPPP MEEEEEEEE!"

Not wasting time, the team ran into the cave to find the sources of the screeches.

End of Part 1


	4. Chapter 4: The Cake is a Pry (Part 2)

Notice: I do not own Xenoblade Chronicles X or it's properties, except for my interpretation on Cross. All rights are reserved to Monolith soft.

* * *

Chapter 4: The Cake is a Pry (Part 2)

Previously, the team encountered a team of BLADE Harriers in Sylvalum and did a little fetch quest for them. When they got back, however, the Harrier team's base was raided, with two of its members taken away to a cave not far from them. The team composed of Cross, Frye, Phog, and Mia set out to find the cave and rescue the two Harriers. Eventually, they found the cave and began exploring it after hearing a series of screams coming from within. After a bit of exploring, the team had found a small crevice from where one of the screams was coming from and went to go investigate it.

"GET BACK!"

Inside the crevice was a Mephite confronting a female BLADE into the dead end. Seeing this, Cross shot at it with his assault rifle to lure it out. The Mephite charged at the young warrior after being hit before being met with more gun rounds, beam lasers, and sword slices outside, eventually being downed within minutes. The group then approached the female BLADE from inside.

"No! Stay away! Don't come anywhere near me!" yelled the female BLADE

"Relax, we ain't here to hurt'cha." said Frye

Upon closer look, Cross was able to make out who the female BLADE was.

"Phina?"

After taking a better look at her supposed new attackers herself, Phina ceased her small freakout.

"O-oh, it's you guys." said a relieved Phina, before collapsing on the ground

"Where's Grette?" asked Phog

"Grette….she…" Phina couldn't say anymore before she blew into hysterics once more.

"Oh not this again…" muttered Frye, not willing to hear yet another breakdown

"What happened to her?" inquired Cross

"The Prone….those monsters…" began Phina "After they raided our camp and captured Grette and I, they were planning on eating us. They were going to eat me first, but….but Grette…." Phina closed her eyes while recalling the memory "When we were being dragged over here, Grette just kept talking about how it was all over and that since Adelbert was dead, she had nothing to live for anymore." Phina clutched herself tighter "So when the time came, she offered herself to the Prone to be eaten first instead of me, saying that she had more meat on her than me. Right before she was taken away, she told me her sacrificing herself for me was the least she could do as a friend. She told me to keep hope and live...for the both of us."

"Did Adelbert mean that much to her?" asked Mia

"Adelbert saved Grette once, in Noctilum," explained Phina "Originally, they belonged on a different Harriers team, one that Dirk and I weren't apart of yet. Their original team was attacked by a group of Turba on a mission once, and Adelbert took a fatal sting meant for Grette from one of the Turba as they were fending them off. Grette and Adelbert made it out of that swarm, with Adelbert even surviving despite his injury but the other team members weren't as lucky against the indigens and died trying to escape alongside them. After the incident, Grette's been head over heels for Adelbert but couldn't express it that well. She became adamant over work, but that was because she was concerned over the team's safety. She used her prissy attitude as somewhat of a defense mechanism, I guess you can say." Phina smiled lightly "That ice cream cake you guys got back? Adelbert made that for Grette sometime after the mission, to cheer her up over what happened before. Grette's been saving it for today for us to enjoy it."

Phina grimaced as she began remembering her current situation, "Anyways, Grette took my place and the Prone took her to the middle of the cave and…..started skinning her alive." Phina winced at the thought "What they didn't know however, was the fact that she was a Mimeosome. When they found out, they got angry and started ripping her apart limb from limb! All the while she was screaming Adelbert's name in excruciating pain. I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was too injured to do anything. I didn't want to jump in recklessly to stop them and save her and possibly get myself killed in the process, not after what she just said to me about keeping hope and living on. So I escaped when they weren't looking, and hid here. It was weird; after a while, they didn't come for me at all. I thought I was safe and thought I could rest here for a bit. But that wasn't until a Mephite spotted me and tried to attack me. Then you guys came…"

"You've probably already saw that Adelbert died." bluntly said Phog, earning him a few glares from the group "But," the younger brother continued "Dirk's still alive. We called in a chopper to come for you guys."

"Really? I'm glad Dirk's safe." expressed Phina

Frye scratched his head, "So then, what now?"

"...kill them," said Phina, surprising everyone "Kill those monsters for what they've done to Grette and Adelbert. I can't let this all stand. Not after they raided our camp and killed Adelbert. Not after the kind of torture they made Grette go through. Please, avenge them…"

"I-I dunno…" said a reluctant Mia "Chief, what do you think? I mean, sure dealing with them would avenge Grette n' Adelbert, but v-"

"We'll do it." said Cross reluctantly, interrupting Mia mid sentence

"Thank you" said Phina, still unmoving from her position

"Like Phog said, there'll be a chopper coming in soon, and I think Dirk will detour it towards this cave for the both of you guys to get back to town with. For the meantime, take it easy and don't get into anymore trouble." said Cross

Phina nodded as the young man started making his way out of the small cave crevice, with his group following suit.

Mia, however, stood in front of her leader as they exited out.

"Chief are you sure about this?" said Mia "Violence isn't always the answer to everything. And sometimes, it leads to more violence…."

"...Mia, if I'm going to be honest, I'm uncomfortable with this as well." said Cross with his eyes closed

"But then why-"

"Let me finish. While yeah, Phina's request was a disturbing one, you have to remember that we're fighting for our lives on this planet to survive, even if it means taking doing uncomfortable things. Any misstep we take could potentially lead to our enemies gaining the upper hand and attacking us without mercy, basically kicking us while we're down. In order for us to survive of this planet, we need to do harsh things when necessary. You saw what happened with Adelbert's team; the Prone came in and mercilessly slaughtered them. Who knows what'll happen if we don't do anything about the Prone who attacked Adelbert's team. They could simply continue with what they're doing and potentially kill off other unsuspecting BLADE teams in the future as well. Not doing anything about this could result in them thinking they could get away with this kind of activity whatever they want without resistance. We're here to prove otherwise and make them pay for their actions, and to ensure that they won't be causing anymore harm. We can't take any chances."

Hearing her Chief's long-winded rant, Mia could only stare at the floor in silence for a few seconds, before turning back to Cross and nodding.

"I understand." said Mia "I don't agree with it, but it's what's needed to be done."

"Alright then. Let's start making out way more into the cave." said Cross, to which Mia complied.

Frye and Phog could only look on in silence as they followed Cross throughout the hot cavern.

The cave itself was quite something. The infernal heat gave everything inside a red glow to it. The place was notably filled with Mephites (who were responsible for the stench) and Turba that seemed to gather around Sacrifole flowers. There was also the fact that most of the middle area of the cave was filled with large lava pits, which were the sources of the cavern's heat and red glow. Cross took note of these large pits and noted to make sure not to fall into them.

After stealthy moving past a couple sum groups of those Mephites and Turba, they eventually came across a series of sounds. Cross motioned the group as they slowly inched their way to the source of the mutters, which was on a small rock island connected to one of the cave pathways.

"...human….weapons…"

"...sell…..helpful edge…."

As they further approached the sounds, they hid behind a large mass of rock. Behind it, they could see two Prone talking with a Definian.

"As you can see, even though you cannot eat these humans, you can convert their mechanical innards into weapons," said the Definian "As I have demonstrated here with their deceased leader."

"Very well," replied one of the Prone "And what use is of this one?"

"Hm, scrap her parts," dismissed the Definian "These Earth aliens think they're so clever with their near-inorganic hosts, but their arrogance precedes them greatly…."

"Hrm. I was finally ready to dine in on human flesh, only to discover that they were just machines!"

The group could only watch in horror of the trio of offenders.

"What do we do?" whispered Mia

"I got a plan." said Cross, as he took out his assault rifle and stuffed something inside of it

Before the group could respond, Cross shot the stuffed item against a stone structure near them, creating a loud sound and getting the attention of the two Prone and Definians.

"One of you. Go check out what that was." demanded the Definian

"Hrm, fine."

The Prone soldier went to investigate the sound. As he approached the source, he found the item Cross had shot out. The Prone picked it up to get a closer, and as he did the item began beeping rapidly.

It was a time bomb.

Before the warrior could even utter a single word, the objected erupted into a mass explosion which sent the Prone hurtling into the wall, unconscious.

Hearing the sound, the remaining Prone and Definian readied themselves and attempted to hide.

Luckily for the team, however, the remaining two were located in a wide open, elevated piece of mass, giving them little to no room to hide. The team used this to their advantage and took the drop on them, guns ready.

 _Thank you, L._ thought Cross to himself as he was preparing himself.

Cross ran in with his assault rifle still in tow, with Phog running alongside him while shooting his dual guns, and the remaining two firing volleys from their minigun and raygun.

Cross and Phog targeted the Definian with their gun fire. Unfortunately, the Definian proved to be quicker than they anticipated and dodged most of their combined firepower. Cross switched to his sword to catch the Definian off-guard, and got a few unexpected strikes in. The leading Interceptor continued attempting to make several slashes at the female assailant while Phog continued his firing as much as he could.

Meanwhile, Mia and Frye were keeping the remaining Prone busy with their own onslaught of shooting. When the Prone retreated to lower ground to reload, Frye took this opportunity to go in with his own sword and attack the vulnerable Prone from there on.

"Rising Blade!" shouted Frye as he caught the Prone off guard, pushing the soldier onto the ground while Mia continued her Raygun beams.

"Beam Barrage!"

As the battle lingered between Cross and Phog, however, the Definian began unleashing her own series of attacks onto her assailants, ranging from swift punches to quick knife slashes, making the two lose their balance and focus at times. Eventually, the female assassin sent out massive electric discharge upon her assailants, stunning both of them. She then pinned Cross to the ground and brought her knife up close to his neck.

"No!" yelled Phog, as Cross was struggling to even move his arms to protect himself as the Definian began making a downwards motion towards his neck.

The young Prospector, releasing himself from the stun, took out his dual blades and began slashing away at the Definian continuously as he took her off guard.

"Hundred Shells!"

Despite numerous attempts at trying to get away, the Definian could not escape from the oncoming slashes and was pinned against a wall while Phog mercilessly slashed at her from behind.

Meanwhile, the Prone began to grow agitated at Frye's relentless onslaught as he let out a loud, startling roar and began unleashing his own flurry of punches and gun blasts onto the soldier until he was blasted onto the ground. The Prone aimed his gun at Frye's head.

"Alien scum!"

Realizing the danger, Mia aimed her raygun and shot out three large blasts of energy at the Prone.

"Beam Bomber!"

Before the Prone could shoot, he was met with these three blasts to the back of the head, temporarily distracting him. Frye saw this opportunity and prepared for his retaliation.

"Burning…" said Frye, as he readied his sword before unleashing a mighty swing at the dazed Prone"Slash!"

Off balance, the Prone was knocked back by the strength of Frye's attack, which created a small fiery tornado in the process, and was sent hurtling into the lava pool. The Cavern Clan alien could only scream in terror on the way down into the pool of lava and once it made contact with the lava, burning alive from it in the process.

Mia ran back to Frye after seeing that the Prone was no more, before the duo turned their attention back to Cross and Phog and ran towards them.

As Phog finally relented with his dozens or so sword slashes, the Definian could only slump on the ground, too injured to move. Cross approached the assassin while the other three looked around the areas.

"Why?" demanded Cross "Why would you do something like this?!"

"Heh heh," smiled the Definian "Like you invasive species would understand…"

Mia approached a pile of objects not far from the downed Definian.

"Chief…. I think you might wanna take a look at this…"

"Don't move," demanded Cross to the Definian as he made his way over to his crew while Phog continued to look over her.

Frye looked through the pile and picked up something from it,

A pair of Psycho launchers.

"You think these might've been the weapons they were talking about earlier?' asked Frye, slightly confused and curious by the fact that their bodies and innards could create such artillery.

The Psycho launchers themselves looked as if they were ordinary ones you'd find at a BLADE weapons armory. Nothing particular stuck out about them from initial appearance. One might've not even realized that they were crafted from Mimeosome bodies.

"These….these weapons…..they're made from Mims?!" exclaimed Mia as she began closely examining the pile, before coming across more of its contents "What...the…"

Down at the bottom of the pile of incomplete weapons and mechanical scraps lied multiple unforseen Mim leftovers. At the sight of such a horrible thing, Mia could only move away from the pile in pure disgust as she threw up on the ground nearby, away from the others.

Delighted to the response, the Definian laughed to herself, albeit in a weak manner.

"...heheheh… Ahahahaha! You think you humans are so clever with your little mechanical bodies, thinking that they would help you survive on this planet. Well you're wrong! You're just as exploitable like any other creature on this miserable planet! Organic or not!" she shifted her sitting position "The Ganglion recruited us Definians and wanted us to find ways to deal with you humans. This is just us finding a solution at their request. Nothing personal." the Definian concluded with a mocking smile on her face

"You sick bastards!" yelled Frye as he grabbed her by the collar, raising her off the ground "You think we're just gonna let you get away with this?! I'll be damned to know that you'll just be destroying our lives and picking apart our body parts like guinea pigs, all because you were 'just told to.' Bullshit! We ain't lettin' that happen!"

The Definian chuckled.

"I'd like to see you try." she said in a lowly voice

Cross was still attending to a shaken Mia. Meanwhile, remembering why Phina sent them out there, Frye dropped the Definian to the ground and grabbed his sword. As he began raising over her, Phog gripped his brother's shoulder.

"Wait." said Phog, stopping his brother.

"Phog, what the hell are you doing? You know why he came to deal with them. You sayin' you should just let them go?!" exclaimed Frye

"I never said that." calmly explained Phog as he began pointing from the direction the group originally came from "Listen."

Heeding to his brother's request, Frye lowered his weapon to better listen in on what his brother was talking about. As he listened closely, he could hear a rampaging sound of footsteps, buzzing, and miscellaneous noises from a distance. Apparently the team's fight with their targets created a loud ruckus, attracting the attention of several of the cave's dwellers. The numerous footsteps and buzzing only got louder each second.

"Crap, that sounds like a lot of 'em. There's no way we'll be able to take all of 'em on, not after our last battle. What the hell do we do?"

"We hide."

"And her?" gestured Frye

"Leave her to the Mephites. They'll eat her." coldly responded Phog as he began looking for a hiding space, surprising his brother.

"He's right. We're in no condition to fight. We need to hide, find an opening, then get the hell outta here." confirmed Cross "But first, we need to carry some of this stuff back to New L.A. for examination. Mia-"

"Nuh-uh! No way! I am NOT touching that stuff!" retorted a still shocked Mia

Cross sighed, "Fine. Frye?"

Frye, still shocked yet impressed by his brother's revelation, compiled as he and Cross gathered as much from the pile as possible while Mia ran to help Phog.

After gathering up as much as they could, the two Interceptors met up with the other two in the little hiding area they found behind one of the large rock masses.

Soon, they saw the stampeding horde of Mephites and Turbas run straight past them. The Mephites soon approached the weakened Definian and sniffed at her. Once the creatures were fully distracted, an opening was found and the group soon ran for the exit as quick as they could, not looking back. Along the way, they found couple of the cave's creatures dragging the previous Prone's unconscious(?) body.

Once the Mephites saw and smelled the Definian's open wounds and blood, they began tugging and biting at the female assassin. Too weak to do anything about it, the Definian could only scream and futilely struggle at the Mephite's hunger. A little while after, a series of screams from the Definian was heard.

"No…. No! Stay back! Stay away from me! Ah! AHHHHHHHH!"

...

"...And once we got outside, we saw the chopper with Dirk and Phina already inside it. We rode back here to New L.A. on it, though with all really uncomfortable with the pile we bought back. Dirk started gagging at the sight of the stuff while Phina practically fainted." continued Cross

Nagi nodded slowly while sipping from his glass of water, deeply listening into the story.

"Once we arrived, the leftover parts and weapons were sent for examination. Beforehand, I took a picture of what the original pile looked like when we were still in the cave so that they could be a better idea of what went down in there. After we reported the mission, Frye n' Phog went to go for some drinks at the diner to relieve themselves of the stress while Mia went to the Mimesome Maintenance Center after her little freakout. Me? I had to deal with some of the paperwork… Oddly enough though, Dirk and Phina oddly still gave us a sum amount of credits for our work, and even insisted that we keep the ice cream cake. Though since neither Frye, Phog, or Mia wanted it, I had to take it. "

Cross picked up the ice cream cake and began examining it.

"...You ever have those things or objects that remind you of certain events every time you look at them? Well, this cake sure is one to me. Thinking about it now, this thing wasn't as emotionally impactful as, say, the Mimeosome weapons. Though I still can't help but feel a bit sad whenever I look at it and be reminded of that specific event…. Just like a few minutes ago…"

Nagi nodded once more and set his glass of water on the countertop.

"I see… I had previously heard about this specific incident when I oversaw reports once, but hearing about it in full detail is quite something else…. The Ganglion sure have stooped to a certain kind of low to be employing these kinds of treacherous acts against us, but I suppose that is to be expected in times of war such as this one."

Nagi put his hand on Cross' shoulder.

"Nevertheless, I think you and your team did well and did as much as you could in that situation. I hope this event has further enlightened you and your fellow BLADEs about how dangerous and unpredictable the enemies we're up against are and just what kind of tactics they'll be willing to resort to. I hope you all will began to take humanity's fight for survival a bit more seriously."

Cross nodded, "Yeah, I understand. Anyways, sorry for making you sit n' listen to all that for so long."

"Oh no, not a problem at all. I think I have been quite satiated with your story."

Nagi began getting up, though with his stomach lowly rumbling. The Secretary then began eyeing the sugary treat.

"...In a metaphorical sense, anyways. Since you're rather anxious about this cake, how about I take it off your hands for you? If you do not mind that is."

"Huh? Oh sure, you can take it."

"Excellent." smiled Nagi as picked up the cake "This'll make for a good late night snack. Anyways, I must be on my way back to BLADE Tower. Work is always calling. Goodbye Cross."

Cross waved as Nagi made his way to the door, "Later."

As soon as Nagi reached the door, however, it had already swung open, with Elma and Lin emerging from the other side, holding several shopping bags.

"And so I was lik- Oh! Secretary Nagi!" exclaimed Lin "Come here to have dinner with us?"

"I was just on my way out, actually. Besides, Cross had already given me this late night treat."

"Oh?" Lin turned to Cross "That old ice cream cake you've been keeping around in the freezer? I was wondering when you'd finally get that thing outta there."

Cross gave a small chuckle at Lin's small comment, though with a slight tense of nervousness.

"Anyways, I'd love to stay and chat, but I must be getting back to my office. Duties as a Secretary General never rest!"

"And yet you choose to spend some of that time by coming into our Barracks at frequent intervals to dine in on one of your subordinate's meals." replied Elma

Nagi smirked, "Always the joke maker, are you Elma? Well, I'll be going on. Goodbye."

After the brief exchange, Nagi exited the door while the female duo entered and placed their bags on a nearby couch, along with Tatsu entering and the door closing shut after a few seconds.

"Had an eventful day?" Elma asked Cross, who was staring off into space

"What? Oh, yeah." replied Cross, snapping back into reality

"You seem a bit stressed out. Is everything alright?"

"Huh? Yeah. Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about." said Cross, trying to sound as natural sounding as possible

Lin grabbed one of the bags and brought it over to the young man.

"Hey, we bought you a few things while we were out shopping." said Lin as she handed over the bag "There's a few new pieces of armor in there, along with some of those accuracy augments you've been talking about lately."

"Oh, thanks." said Cross as he began examining the contents of the bag, before coming across a white shirt. The Interceptor picked it up and unraveled it; revealing the wording on the front which read: "I Heart New L.A."

"Tatsu got that for you. It was on sale."

"...Thanks." replied Cross, still grateful of the stuff Lin and Elma had gotten him.

 _Fin_

* * *

Hey guys, thank you for those who've been reading this story so far. I try as much as I can to put a lot of effort into the character building along with the story telling and such.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Chapter 5: A New Record?

Chapter 5: A New Record?

It was a typical night in New L.A.. The clear, night sky shone over the city with it's bright and starry appearance as usual. Most of the city's denizens were already inside their houses and BLADE soldiers were either inside the Barracks or patrolling the darken streets.

In Team Elma's living quarters, however, there was a small celebration going on with the team and a visiting Commander Vandham. Apparently, the Commander had come to congratulate the team for their latest mission in taking down a sudden indigen attack on Primordia's Biahno Water-Purification Plant.

Currently, Vandham was sitting on the couch conversing with Elma and Cross while Lin was cooking up dinner with Tatsu aiding her.

"Lemme tell ya', those Filiavent creatures sure are a hassle to deal with. Freakin' annoying things… Who knew one would start growing in the water supply? Glad to know that it was your team who took care of the problem!" said Vandham

"And you come here to 'congratulate' us and celebrate by eating _our_ food?" snarked Lin, who was mixing some ingredients.

"Hey, I just came here to tell ya'll you've been doing a bang up job lately! I couldn't find anytime to come until now!" said Vandham "Besides, since you guys were making dinner I thought 'why not'?."

Lin gave him a dirty look.

"Relax! Listen, how 'bout tomorrow I treat you all to some at the diner? My treat!" suggested the Commander.

"Hmmm…. Deal." said Lin with a satisfied smile, to which Elma and Cross nodded in response. "Be warned, though, Tatsu has a huge stomach."

"Hey! If that little potbelly eats more than I can afford, then I'm makin' sure he's gonna be the one doin' dishes!" retorted Vandham, with Tatsu retorting with a pout.

"Anyways," resumed the Commander, who picked up a nearby remote "You guys got some good entertainment 'round here?"

"Most of the show recordings we have are just cooking shows n' soap operas that Lin and Elma try to catch up on." said Cross. "Nothing much good on cable around this time."

"Aw, bummer." replied Vandham, who was surfing through the programs.

"Well, you could look at our recorded battle simulations, to get a better idea of how we train individually and as a team." suggested Elma.

"Eh, I've seen plenty of those already from other BLADE teams. Almost tired of watching them." said Vandham "What I do like watching, however, are the small recordings at the end of each training simulation."

Both Elma and Cross gave the Commander confused looks.

"Small recordings?" inquired Elma.

"'Course. The system records whatever you guys are doing during the cool off period. It gives the higher ups at BLADE HQ a better idea of how you BLADE deal with the aftermath of a battle. Most of the, however, it just leads to funny stuff."

The commander scrolled through the videos before picking one of them.

"Here's one." said Vandham as he clicked on the training video.

...

In the video was none other than Cross, who had just slashed away the last Scirpo on the digital field.

"TRAINING SUCCESSFUL" stated the system "RETURNING SIMULATION TO ORIGINAL STATE. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THEN."

Upon hearing this voice, Cross slung his sword over his shoulder and began….posing?

"One small step for BLADE, one giant leap for humankind!" exclaimed the Interceptor, looking quite proud of himself "Yeah, that sounded great. What else do I got?"

"When duty calls, I'll answer the call!" said Cross before making a face of disapproval with himself "Nah, that sounds too weird…."

Trying again, Cross resumed his previous pose, "With great power comes great responsibility!" he exclaimed with a proud voice, but once again shaking his head "Okay, maybe that sounded too cliche. Besides, it ain't original."

Trying once more, this time with a different pose, "Men are like stones, smoothed by the tides of battle." said Cross with a more suave voice, before once again shaking his head in further frustration "Damnit, sounds a bit too tryhard. Hmm, maybe this one…"

"Fate dealt us these cards, so we have to play them!" exclaimed Cross, who nodded to himself in accomplishment "Yeah, totally that one! Alright, time to get outta here. Thank God Elma n' Lin aren't here to hear all of that."

After the clip ended, Vandham and Elma turned and looked at Cross, who was too busy staring at the screen, shocked and blushing in embarrassment.

"Well that was….certainly interesting." stated Elma, not knowing how to feel about what she just saw.

"Well I'll be damned, boy! I didn't know you liked to play superhero!" exclaimed Vandham with glee.

Behind him, Lin was laughing as well.

"Gee Cross, you sure like to take your roleplay seriously!" said Lin before resuming her laughter, resulting in Cross lowering his head and sighing.

After his brief laughing, Vandham resumed his search for other clips when he came across another one and clicked it.

"Oh, this one looks neat."

When Lin saw what he clicked, however, she stopped her laughter almost immediately at who she saw was next on the clip:

Herself.

...

In the clip, Lin was in her Mastema Skell and was just done taking care of a small group of simulated Oc-servs and a Xe-dom.

"TRAINING SUCCESSFUL" stated the system "RETURNING SIMULATION TO ORIGINAL STATE. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THEN."

Hearing this, Lin exited her Skell and waved herself off.

"Hoo, man I'm beat. Those Xe-doms can sure take a beating." said the young girl to herself before turning to her Skell and examining its parts.

Everything seemed normal, until…

"I wonder what I'll include for the next chapter for my Skell fanfiction?" stated Lin "Maybe I can finally have Inferno Skydon take down the treacherous Mastema White Reaper and then save Lailah Queen from his crutches at the Orha ruins! Then, in the heat of the moment, with the mood set the two get close to each other and finally ki-"

"OKAY!" yelled Lin, who made her way over toVandham and yanked the remote out of his hand, pausing the video in the process "I-I think that's enough clips for today!"

Meanwhile, Cross couldn't help but chuckle.

"Skell fanfiction? Seriously? You're still on that? I'd expect Alexa to write that kind of stuff, but you-"

"SHUT UP!" yelled a still blushing and embarrassed Lin, who was struggling to work the remote "How does this thing even work?!"

Before she knew it, however, she had inadvertently clicked another clip from the list.

The person in question this time, however, was none other than Elma.

...

In the clip, Elma had skillfully taken down the simulated Prone one by one, each one going down by the minute.

"Sliding Slinger!" yelled Elma "Side Slash!"

She turned to another.

"Stream Edge!"

"Electric Surge!"

Soon, each Prone was down for the count.

"TRAINING SUCCESSFUL" stated the system "RETURNING SIMULATION TO ORIGINAL STATE. PLEASE WAIT UNTIL THEN."

After this, Elma simply put away her weapons while examining the de-simulation happen, also giving herself some time to catch her breath.

After a little while, she began to stand up straight and still look around, before turning to her own wear.

"...my bra and panties are getting too small." said the female leader "Maybe I can ask Lin where I can buy some new sports ones, along with some casual pieces. Better yet, Irena has some good lacey-"

Suddenly, the monitor was shut off, with Elma being the one holding the remote. She then threw the remote far across the room, daring not to look at either Cross or Vandham. All the while sporting a small blush.

Cross and Vandham too had small blushes across their faces, while Lin was simply staring at the now blank screen in with a gaped face.

…..

And no one ate dinner that night.


End file.
